I did not suddenly discover an interest in making rings. I did suddenly discover how lost in it I have recently become. I see that it’s been a month since my last post, and that’s because I have been making rings like it’s my job.

You don’t have to be a woodworker to make these rings, but it helps in many ways. I already know which species are good for bending and which are not. I’m not a lumber expert, but I’m fairly well familiar with North American species. Part of this process has been learning more about exotics. I now know that makore and sapele bend well, and so does zebrawood.

The first time I saw this kind of ring was a couple of years ago. I thought it might be cool to make some, but shuffled it to the back burner and that was the end of that. It was only a few months ago I started actually thinking about doing it. Between then and now, I’ve made probably two dozen of them.

Cherry and maple

This is by far the nicest one I’ve made. It’s cherry and maple, both of which bend well.

I’ve been trying my hand at gemstone inlay, as well. I’m not getting the results I want, but I know why. I need quality stones and the right combination of abrasives. When I get a little better at that I’ll post some more pictures.

Yes, crushed stone. I have some examples of how not to do it.:) I’ll probably post pics of my fist couple attempts, but not until my confidence is up. It’ll be easier to poke fun at myself after I’ve done one real nice.